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A character who, for one reason or another, is living in another character's wardrobe/closet. For some reason the "tenant" is usually female. Happens a lot in anime, apparently because in Japan some people do indeed spend time in their closets during certain types of weather. That's half the reason why even smaller houses have big closets. Of course, apartments and capsules in Japan don't have closets at all.

In addition, following from TropeCodifier ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'', it's a way to allow the MagicalGirlfriend to [[InnocentCohabitation live with]] TheProtagonist without the two having to share a room.

----!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* ''Anime/RODTheTV'' has very tall Maggie sleep in a closet. She likes small spaces.* Lum in ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' is the TropeCodifier. (It's based on a pun: in Japanese, "an {{oni}} in the closet" is slang for a freeloader.)* Although the floorplan for Misato's apartment [[NotDrawnToScale shifts constantly from episode to episode]], in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Asuka forces this arrangement on Shinji. The supplementary books have floor plans, and according to them, Shinji got dumped into the study/sewing room.* This the plot of ''{{Rizelmine}}'', where the main character's UnwantedSpouse takes up residence in his walk-in closet.* While Rukia of ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is in the mortal world, she stays hidden inside Ichigo's closet, to his chagrin. She eventually gets an upgrade by sharing his sisters' bedroom. She prefers the closet.** In some of the {{Omake}} shorts in the anime, it's not clear whether Rukia is actually renting the space, or has simply told everyone back home that providing closet lodgings and temporary storage is one of the duties of a Substitute Shinigami like Ichigo.* ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'': Kiri Komori will randomly show up in Itoshiki-sensei's closet (or any other dark, enclosed space) when the "plot" requires.* It's hinted that Maika in ''{{Magikano}}'' frequently hides in her brother Haruo's closet and watches him sleep, as part of her obsession with him and her ultimate goal of some BrotherSisterIncest.* [=NieA=] in ''NieA7''.* Ren-Ren-Ren-Nagusaran-Rensia-Roroonren-Nakora in ''{{DearS}}''. Since it's divided by a shelf halfway up its length, several other characters take up the bottom space (with Ren holding the upper space) over the course of the series.* {{Doraemon}} sleeps in Nobita's closet.* ''TenchiMuyo'': Ryoko is occasionally like this, only she tends to prefer rafters to closets.** Washuu winds up taking residence in an extra-dimensional space created using the Masaki broom closet ''under the stairs''.* Konoe goes into Akuto's closet at least once to "observe" him in ''DemonKingDaimao''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]* In the Val Kilmer movie ''Film/RealGenius'', Lazlo lives in Mitch and Chris' closet. Sorta. [[spoiler:The closet actually contains a lift to his hidden laboratory in the steam tunnels below the school.]]* In Charlie Kaufman's movie ''Film/SynecdocheNewYork'' the main character Caden Cotard moves into his ex wife Adele's closet after taking the place of her maid, presumably without Adele's knowledge, living out the rest of his days there.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' lived in the closet under the staircase under the Dursleys' home prior to the major events in Book One. He didn't like it much, as his cousin Dudley loved to bang down the staircase just to annoy him, and it was often full of spiders. As punishment the Dursleys would sometimes lock him inside it.* In a non-romantic, male example, Spider from ''Literature/AnansiBoys'' takes up residence in the tiny walk-in closet belonging to his brother, "Fat Charlie" Nancy. Or rather, his immense penthouse with a scenic view of a waterfall in the Amazon jungle takes up residence there. And Spider absolutely refuses to leave. HilarityEnsues. So does a number of other things that are mostly entertaining when they don't happen to ''you''.* In the book ''TheSugarQueen'', there's a girl living in another girl's closet.* In ''TheWestingGame'', Turtle insists that her bedroom was designed to be only a closet. Her mother disagrees, but someone else who comes looking for the two of them asks why they're in a closet.* In the MercyThompson series, Stefan once crashed for the day in Mercy's closet. Justified, as he's a vampire and it was the only space in her trailer that could be entirely sealed off from light.* In the James Herriot series Tristan Farnon lives in the closet of James' room in Skeldale House. It seems that James got his room when he got the job of new assistant to Seigfried Farnon. This has led to amusement when some of Tristan's pranks involve him staying up later than James...[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': With Anya gone, Spike ignominiously moves into a 'spare room' in Xander's apartment.--> '''Xander:''' "I know it looks like a closet but it's a room now."* The 2005 American sitcom ''{{Committed}}'' had a 'dying clown' living in the female lead's closet. When asked about this little eccentricity by a potential suitor, she reveals that she is subletting her apartment and a condition of the lease is that the clown gets to live in the closet until he dies. "They're used to small spaces, you know the ''[[ClownCar cars]]''."* In ''ProsecutorPrincess'' something along these lines happens, with a man sneaking in and eating her food, using her shampoo, etc.* One recurring sketch on {{Nickelodeon}}'s ''Turkey Television'' was an ''[[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.T.]]'' [[AffectionateParody parody]] starring [[YouCantDoThatOnTelevision Adam Reed]] as a boy with a friendly alien living in his closet.* ''The Sean Cullen Show'' had Winston the Cellar Dweller, who pays Sean rent.* In {{Twitch City}}, the female lead can't afford to rent a room, so she rents a walk-in closet and redecorates accordingly. It doesn't look half bad.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Game ]]

* ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' reveals that Teddie is living in Yosuke's closet after the events of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}.''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* In ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'', Mab takes up residence in Dan's closet after her Faery Grove gets blown up. Granted, its more a case of using his closet-door as an entrance into her own, private pocket-dimension, but it evokes much the same effect when she pops into and out of her "home".

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Another male example is Fry from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', who lives in Bender's closet. This is actually an inversion of the usual space issue in that Bender's "closet" is actually the size of a regular room, while the space where Bender stays is the size of what we [[strike:Americans]] Meatbags would consider a closet. When Fry first proposes living there, Bender comments that it's odd, but they stick with that arrangement.** Keep in mind, this is all after Bender wants to stay in Fry's closet when Fry gets a really great apartment. Futurama was about as much irony as possible in its early days.* For several seasons of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', an apparently evil monkey lived in Chris's closet.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* TruthInTelevision: there was a case in Japan where a homeless woman secretly lived in a man's closet. The man noticed only when he realised that the amount of food he bought and ate didn't match up, and set cameras around the house.* Creator/GeorgeClooney admits he used to live out of friends' closets when he was broke and couldn't afford rent while struggling to break into show business.